More

Behind Bars: Denny Hecker’s Life In Prison

DULUTH, Minn. (WCCO) — It has been more than two months since fallen auto mogul Denny Hecker went to live at what will be his home for at least the next eight years — the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, Minn.

Hecker is one of nearly a thousand inmates at the facility that Forbes Magazine once rated as one of the best prisons to do time in.

Twenty-four months ago, Hecker was living in a 20,000-square-foot Medina mansion with indoor and outdoor pools.

On March 29, reporter Esme Murphy drove up to see Hecker’s home — at the Federal Prison Camp.

She met with Hecker in the jail’s visiting area. Hecker was dressed in surplus army fatigues from the 1960s, the uniform of all inmates.

Hecker said he sometimes has a difficult time believing he is in prison.

“Sometimes, I feel like I am playing myself in a movie,” he said.

He described a life that to some might not sound so bad. He works out every day with weights in a fully-equipped prison gym. He says the food is good. There is a salad bar and at times fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

There is a prison movie theater he can go to. The former auto mogul sleeps in a bunk bed in a room with three other men in a residential dorm-like building.

The federal minimum-security prison camp was actually Hecker’s first choice on where he would serve his prison sentence but an inmate doesn’t get to decide — it’s up to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Hecker once owned hundreds of luxury brand watches. Now he said dealing with time is his biggest struggle. When he was running an empire he said, “the days would fly by filled with meetings and phone calls.”

Now he said “the minutes are like hours, the hours like days.” Sometimes he spends hours looking at the planes fly overhead to the nearby Air Force base.

In prison, he had his first job interview in more than 30 years. He wanted to teach business to other inmates, instead he was assigned to wash floors.

“I did wrong, but I don’t deserve 10 years,” he said.

Hecker said his greatest regret is for his family, for his new wife Christi Rowan-Hecker — who is serving time in an Illinois prison — and for his two minor children, ages 16 and 10.

Hecker, whose car dealerships once had $6.8 billion in annual revenues, seems amazed at times at his fall.

“I used to have more money than anyone can imagine. I really used to,” he said.

Hecker is 58. He is serving a 10-year sentence. With good behavior, he is scheduled to be released on July 4, 2019.

Esme Murphy, a reporter and Sunday morning anchor for WCCO-TV, has been a member of the WCCO-TV staff since December 1990. She is also a weekend talk show host on WCCO Radio. Born and raised in New York City, Esme ventured into reporting after...

One Comment

I was appalled to see and hear that inmates of this prison are wearing Army fatigues surplus or not. Criminals should not be wearing any type of military uniforms. I cannot believe that this is something that a Federal Prison would approve. Shame on them that allow this. What a disgrace to our service men and women!!! He is a convicted criminal and should be treated as such, bright orange jumpsuit or better yet, a black and white stripe one!!

@Sherry
It’s really no disgrace for Hecker wearing 1960’s Army surplus fatigues. In fact, some prisons around the USA, whether State, Federal or Military, use old military surplus clothing as a cost saving measure. Also, it saves you, the US taxpayer, money. Don’t forget, these surplus fatigues are from the Viet Nam war era and do not meet present day military specifications for fatigues[aka BDU’s].

As a veteran, I could care less what military surplus Hecker wears except say that fatigue blouses should be marked with a “P” on the back side. Just like military prisons. Why pay more for new bright orange jumpsuits or black-&-white striped uniforms. Hecker isn’t worth that style; Army surplus is just fine.

Read Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault. Follow that with Consiliance by E.O. Wilson. If criminology and prisons worked for curbing crime we’d have no crime by now. Instead, we manufacture crimes to keep ourselves intolerant, afraid and deluded and people employed at huge cost both financial and emotional. Read the books.

Hello. I’ve added the cnmoemt reply feature to my blog. However, the issue I’m having is on my other pages that you can create through blogger, when the cnmoemt feature is set to enable for them and click on “reply” it brings up a “We’re sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.” message.By any chance could you tell me what I am doing wrong? I mean it’s working properly on the main blog page. But doesn’t work properly on the other pages, for example about me, and etc.Any help with this would be highly appreciated. Thank you!!

This guy was a crook who cost many good people honest jobs. Now he is still iving better than many of the people he wronged. The fact that the banking industry is criminal as well in no way excuses his own criminal behavior. I think he dserves more time in a less pleasant setting.

Federal Prison is not about Rehab, or Disciplines. It is about Time Out of Society, then after 5 – 50 years or so, then you are put back into society. It’s a big business, of cheap labor, and warehousing. Wake up people.

skylarportland on February 11, 2010 Exactly. Even if you go tgourhh consumer credit counseling, your credit is still harmed almost as bad ( consumer credit is just a baby step up from bankruptcy ), BUT you’re having to pay a couple hundred $ usually, every month, and that mark still stays on your credit, which harms if you should need to finance a vehicle, home, etc. Loans tend to use your debt/income ratio now, so filing bankruptcy loosens this ratio up, thereby increasing your loan options if you chose to.

Kelly, Then do not read it… it is that simple, because we do not care what you think either… I believe it is news, considering how he impacted our community! People quickly forget the damage that he caused by his irresponsibility, so this is a good reminder! We do not like to hear it, but it is news…

Wow, a fully equiped gym, movie theatre, fresh rolls and a salad bar all at no cost to him?? Damn, sign me up too! Sounds a hell of a lot better than working my tail to the bone day in and day out, just to keep my head above water.

I am in the auto industry and I have come in contact with a lot of people who are the direct victims of his thieving. These customers bought a car from his dealership and they traded in a vehicle that was never paid off. The taxes from the new purchase were never paid either. So, they now have a charge off auto on their credit from the trade issue, and issues with the DMV and State of Mn for unpaid tax on their purchase. Needless to say, their credit is a wreck and they cannot buy another car or anything else with credit. They are the victims here–not Hecker. There are also plenty of others who should be in there with him however!!

I fully agree. He got off very easy only having ten (stated) years for what he did. As it is, it sounds like he has it pretty good where he is. More than I can say for myself. I can’t remember the last time I could afford to see a movie.

AS FORMER EMPLOYEE OF DENNY AND BEING INVOLVE WITH LOSING A JOB
THROUGH HIS GREED I CAN HONESTLY SAY WHERE THE JUSTICE HE SCREWED WITH SO MANY PEOPLE LIVES AND HE STAYING POSH PRISON I THAUGHT PRISON IS SUPPOSED TO RUFF AND TOUGH NOT THEATHER AND SALAD BAR WITH FRESH CINNAMON ROLLS HE SHOULD OF WENT STIILLWATER AND OUT IN GENERAL PUBLIC AND HE STILL SCREWING WITH SYSTEM COME ON JUDGES WAKE UP SMELL THE COFFEE AND DO YOU JOB ONE LAST THING DENNY YOU CAN ROT IN HELL

Hecker was a wheeler dealer and made things happen….People that worked for him made good money and then bad mouth him when his empire crumbles. He did nothing that the entire auto industry does every day…his problem was when the money tightened up the cash flow went in only one directiom and he came out on the short end. Didn’t deserve ten years…..

Leok450 on January 30, 2010 American cars dont have the best qulity. My dad had a Nissan van itoprmed from Japan that is still working after 300,000km. But of course we have another car lolz. A 2010 toyota venza